覚醒 Awakening
by Brightcrest
Summary: "Two sleeping dragons- one a sacred ally of mankind, the other its sworn destroyer. Two heroes marked with the symbols of the dragons. Their meeting heralds the dragons' awakening- and the world's ending." My version of Fire Emblem: Awakening. More details inside.
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares and Amnesia

**Yep, I'm doing a novelization of a game that hasn't been translated into English yet. Blame the fact that all of the games I want either haven't been releaseed here yet and the fact that I don't have a 3DS.**

**This is basically my version of the events of the game. I know the main plot points, but I can't read Japanese, so some of the events will most likely be different. The dialouge will also be different. If it's the same, it was not intentional. The characters also act the way I imagine they do from their supports/descriptions.**

**There will also be the actual support conversations! Thank Serenes Forest for that. Actually, thank Serenes Forest for this story. Krom will be paired with Sumia for three reasons: 1. I like that pairing the most; 2. The fanfics on this site before this were all KromxMU pairings, so I want variety; and 3. There is no three. I will take requests for some pairings if you want a specific pairing other then that, but no Yaoi. I will never write a male/male pairing unless I have to.**

**And if I didn't already make this clear, it will follow the main events of the game, so don't read if you want to find out all of it when it comes out in English. But if you are reading, please leave a review for me. Reviews are the key to my happiness on this site, so please leave one!**

**Disclaimer: Would I be writing fan fiction if I owned it? No, Fire Emblem is owned by Nintendo/Intelligent Systems. I don't have the money to buy it from them.**

* * *

**Fire Emblem: Awakening**

_Two sleeping dragons- one a sacred ally of mankind, the other its sworn destroyer. Two heroes marked with the symbols of the dragons. Their meeting heralds the dragons' awakening- and the world's ending._

* * *

**Chapter I- Nightmare and Amnesia**

"Onii-Chan, are you even listening to me?" a little girl with blond pigtails of about 14 pouted at a tall man of about 20 with short, slightly messy blue hair.

Krom looked over at his little sister. "Eh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that you look exhausted," Liz said. "Were you up all night thinking about Sumia?"

"I told you to stop joking around about that. I don't have any feelings for her!"

"Oh, sure you don't. And I've decided to learn how to use dark magic."

"I really don't!"

The banter continued for several minutes. Normally, Krom would be far more annoyed at this topic that his devious baby sister would never drop. However, he was grateful for this for the first- and most likely last- time in his life, because it took his mind off of last night.

••••

Krom stepped out of his room, quietly closing the door behind him. Though only the royal family lived in this area of the castle, there were still guards around, and he really didn't want any of those stupid nobles to gossip about the current heir taking a stroll around the castle an hour before dawn. Those pathetic "rulers" would make up things that would never, ever happen. Like there was this one time that- actually, he didn't want to think about that. It was almost worse than his nightmare.

He walked silently down the hallway. He desperately needed to tell someone about it, and there were four options.

Vake and Sumia- his closest friends- were out. Vake would just laugh at him, and he already gets enough of that during training. (It's not his fault- they need to move any breakable stuff far, _far_ away from the training area.)

As for Sumia... he didn't want to worry her. She would be beside herself with worry, even though he was most likely being overly paranoid about his nightmare. Or at least he hoped he was.

That brought him to his sisters. He would never go to Liz; she'd freak out more then she would if she saw a spider (and she really hates spiders). The last option- though he was reluctant to put any more burden on her- was his best, and had the added bonus of most likely be awake at this hour. With that in mind, he quietly knocked on his eldest sister's door, opening the door when he heard a quiet "come in".

As he thought, the Holy Queen of Iris was sitting at her desk, signing the paperwork that he will never understand why it was needed. It just made so much more work for her... and it wasn't as if she didn't already have the weight of the entire kingdom always hanging over her. The nobles and "advisors" are all pressuring her to marry and produce an heir, but they put all of this work in front of her and gave her almost no time to even sleep.

Krom really hated a good majority of those people that can barely be called people they were so disgusting.

Emelina looked up when he came in. "Krom," she said worriedly, taking a good look at him, "what's wrong?" He sometimes came in to help her with paperwork or whatever she was working on, but he always put on a shirt before he did...

Krom sunk down into a chair. "I had a nightmare..." he began, then stopped.

"And?"

"I died."

Emelina's eyes widened. "You died?" He nodded, staring at the floor. "What happened?" she asked, all thoughts of the massive pile of paperwork sitting on her desk gone from her mind.

"I actually don't remember too much," the lord began, still staring at the floor. "If I remembered all of it, I'm sure I'd be far more traumatized.

"It began with me fighting some kind of dark mage. I don't remember what he looked like- which I wish I did, but the only think I've got I'd that he looked like he was wearing a dress. Seriously. I had the upper hand, but he managed to knock me back with a spell.

"Before he could actually kill me, another mage intercepted the spell with one of his or her own. The sorcerer was knocked back by the spell and before he could react, the mage threw another spell at him. The sorcerer died, laughing some kind of insane laugh. As soon as he fell, the mage also fell to the ground. I ran over to him, making sure he was okay. I don't remember what we said, but I do remember him suddenly screaming at me to run. I didn't react in time, and so was impaled by the same magic that killed the sorcerer.

"The last thing I remember before I woke up was someone laughing- not the same insane laugh as the sorcerer, but like some kind of being made up of pure evil…"

Emelina looked at her younger brother, concern very clear in her eyes. _I would almost call that some kind of vision, but it's so horrible that I don't want to even to consider that kind of possibility… Besides, isn't it usually girls that get visions? _"Krom… I really don't know what to say…" she said out loud.

Krom slowly nodded, still not looking at his older sister. "I wasn't really expecting you to. I mainly just needed to get it off my chest."

"Well, at the very least it's probably not a vision, since you aren't a girl," she said. " Or, you weren't the last time I checked."

That actually got a small laugh from him. "Do you actually think I would come in here without a shirt on if I was a girl?"

Emelina smiled. "Of course not." The Holy Queen looked out the window. "It's almost dawn. Since I doubt you will be able to go back to sleep after that- and besides, there's no point now- why don't you go get dressed. Since I don't think I'll be able to persuade you otherwise, you can come back in and help me with this horrible amount of paperwork once you've done that." Krom smiled a little and left to do that. t

Once he had left the room, Emelina leaned back in her chair and let a huge sigh escape her lips, rubbing a hand over the Naga marking on her forehead. _Like I said to him, it was most likely just a nightmare..._

_So why does it seem like it did happen in some chain of events?_

••••

Krom was shaken from his thoughts when he saw a strange looking rock on the side of the road. _I don't remember there being a rock here last week… When did it get here? _As he drew closer, however, he saw that it was a strange dark gray and purple color… rocks didn't have purple lines, did they? Once he saw a small bit of silver, he knew that it wasn't a rock. He ran towards the figure.

"Onii-chan, what are you- ahh!" he heard Liz say behind him.

The blue-haired lord knelt by the woman, keeping a hand on Falchion just in case because even though she was passed out, you could never be too careful- especially when your older sister was the ruler of the Holy Kingdom of Iris. He checked for a pulse with his free hand. Thankfully, he could hear her heart still beating, meaning that he didn't have to lug a body with him to the town.

"Do you think that she needs healing?" Liz asked as she leaned beside her brother.

Krom shook his head. "She doesn't seem to need it." He let go of the hilt of his sword to turn the woman older. "Looks to me like she just passed out- most likely from exhaustion or something like that."

At that point, the woman started to stir, as if in reaction to his words. She opened her chocolate brown eyes, looking around her. "Where…?" she gasped out.

"You're on the side of the Ide road," Liz said. The woman immediately turned to her, holding up her hand like she was about to fend off an attack.

"It's all right," Krom spoke up, drawing the girl's attention. "We aren't going to hurt you." He held out his hand to help her up. She took it and was pulled up by the prince, noticing as he did that she had a strange marking on the back of her hand._ Looks to be a birthmark… Though why does it seem familiar? I know I've never seen it before..._

"What are you doing here?' Liz asked, curious to know why a pretty girl like had been lying on the side of the road, just waiting for bandits or some other unwanted and vulgar men to find her.

To the two royal's surprise, a look of shock and fear filled the girl's face. "I… I really have no idea…"

* * *

**So our tactiction doesn't remember anything!** **Btw, her name is Cyra. I was planning to make this chapter longer, but then it would've turned out to be way to long. Krom's nightmare is basically what happens in the Interlude chapter, so it's not future events... sort of. And I know I need to work on description. I've been trying.**

**And as you can see, I'm using the fan translated names right now. Mainly because I like them more. **

**Onii-chan means big brother in Japanese. Don't ask me why I imagine Liz calling Krom that. I just do.**

**The next chapter will hopefully be up by Sunday since I'll be gone Saturday. Actually, make that Monday. Who knows if I'll be up for posting a new chapter after a long car ride with my little sister. And I said this before, but reviews are helpful. I'll still write this, but reviews will make me very happy.**


	2. Chapter 2: Bandits, Tomes, Tactician

**Note to self: Do NOT finish up a chapter while watching the Opening Ceremonies to the Olympics. Be glad you got a chapter today.**

**Anyway, I'm gonna answer reviews here.**

**Takamiya~ Wow. Yes HenryxOlivia will appear, don't worry. Those two are cute together. And Krom can't marry a rock, for reasons I can't get into yet.**

**DragonDamsel~ Actually, I'd talked myself out of doing this twice, and by the third time I was pretty much just like "What the heck? Might as well try it." Lucina/Cyra will definally be in here eventually. As for Krom/Cyra, I haven't quite decided. I might do a mix between that support and the Male MU support. As for the pairings: It's so far a tie between CyraxGaia and CyraxRonku atm, but I know you're vote already. **

**Gunlord500~ Thank you!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Bandits, Tomes, and a new tactician**

Name: Cyra

Age: 19, almost 20

Birthday: August 17

Weapon: Tomes, somewhat decent with swords

Parents/Guardians: Mother died a few years ago, never knew father

Hometown: don't remember, somewhere on the border

Reason for being on the Ide Road: don't remember

Though Krom knew that Cyra could just be faking amnesia, he was actually inclined to believe her. If she was just trying to get to them, she could've easily said that she remembers absolutely nothing, but she didn't. The look on her face the entire time was also a clue. As part of the ruling family, Krom was adept at reading people's faces to tell if they are lying (and considering some of those nobles, he had a lot of practice), and Cyra's shock and fear were real.

While he was mulling over his thoughts, Liz was looking her over, making sure that nothing had happened to her to cause her to lose her memory. "Well, I'm not the best healer ever- and before you say anything Onii-chan, yes I will admit that," the cleric spoke before Krom could open his mouth, "it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with you. It's kind of like your memories just disappeared."

Cyra slowly nodded. "Some dark mage could have jinxed me, though, Liz-sama," she said.

"You don't have to add any honorifics. And I don't think that you got cursed, but you'll need a better cleric to make certain."

Cyra nodded, a small smile appearing on her face for the first time since she'd awoken. "Thank you two for taking care of me. Most nobles would just pass someone by, not caring if something happened- heck, they probably wouldn't do anything if they saw bandits... do less then desirable things to me."

"Most of them would do just that," Krom spoke up for the first time since Liz had taken over the questioning. "Just because they would doesn't mean we have to."

Cyra looked to be visibly touched by that, a true smile breaking out on her face. Suddenly her eyes widened as she yelled, "Duck!"

Krom, surprised, did as she said, ducking just in time to avoid the hand axe in route to his right shoulder. He turned around, instantly unsheathing Falchion as he did.

"Dang it! Why did ya have ta duck?" a voice called out as a group of seven bandits appeared on their left.

Krom mentally cursed himself. _You idiot! How could you let those vagrants sneak up on you?_

"Heh, those two darlins look mighty fine, wouldn' ya guys say?" spoke one.

"An' that sword the guy's holdin' looks like it'll fetch a few bucks," said another.

Liz glared at her older brother. "Why did you have to bring /that/ sword with you?" she hissed.

"Well, the only other swords we had were regular iron swords, and it's better to have an unbreakable sword then one I'll break after only landing a few hits!" the lord snapped back.

"Not trying to be rude, but there's three of us and seven of them, and only two of us can use weapons!" Cyra whisper-yelled at the siblings.

"What do you suggest we do?" asked Liz.

"How about this: Krom takes on the first bandit to charge us and take on any others he can. How many do you think you can take on at once?" the mage said, directing her question at the blue-haired man.

"Eh... Two, maybe three if they're worse at fighting then I think," he replied, not used to being asked questions like that.

"I'll stay back here and cover you and keep any hand axes away from me and Liz. Liz, if one gets too close, try blocking the attack with your stave if you can't dodge. It will most likely break your stave, but we can replace those." The two nobles looked at the girl, eyes wide. "What? Is that not a good plan?"

"It is..." Krom said, still looking at Cyra. "I'm just surprised."

One of the bandits decided to take advantage of the lord's momentary distraction to rush at him. Unfortunately for him, all of Krom's fights against Vake and the other members of the Vigilante Force had left him with _very_ good instincts. He met the bandit's strike, then ducked underneath the axe and impaled the man through the chest.

The rest of the bandits took that as their cue to attack. They all rushed the trio. Krom engaged the two that came at him. Another two were hit by three bolts of lightning, courtesy of Cyra's arcthunder tome.

One of the two left came at Liz. She dodged his first swing, thanking Naga that bandits as a whole were inaccurate. However, as she was unaccustomed to frontline fighting, the bandit's strikes quickly came closer and closer to hitting the princess. She tripped over one of the fallen bandit's axes and fell to the ground, her heal stave flying out of her hand. The bandit leered over her, raising his axe to strike her...

...And then fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

Cyra blinked, lowering her hand. "I wasn't aiming at him... Oh well. Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it."

Krom came over from where he'd dueled the other two bandits. He looked at the twitching bandit, then stabbed him to put him out of his misery. "What happened to the other one?" he asked, helping his sister up.

"He ran off screaming about overkill or something like that," Cyra replied, putting away her tome.

"Well anyway, thank you for helping us, Miss Cyra!" Liz told the mage.

"Oh no. No. If I'm not allowed to add honorifics to your name, you can't put any in front of mine," the girl said. "Well, I'll go now. Thank you two again"

She barely made it five steps before she heard Krom shout "Wait!" She turned around, looking at him inquiringly.

"How would you like to join Iris' Vigilante Force?" the blue-haired lord asked the mage.

"Ah! Y-you're joking, right?"

"I'm not! It's just that... well, you kinda saved me by noticing that hand axe and you seem to be a fairly good tactician... which it would be a good idea to have... and besides, you don't have anywhere else to go, so..." Krom said, rubbing the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at the silver-haired girl.

Cyra looked at Krom, tears threatening to fall. _I wouldn't expect a normal person to offer me something like that, let alone a royal... _"Are you sure?"

"W-why would I joke about this? I wouldn't joke about this!"

"Then... Thank you. I'll take you up on you're offer."

"YES YES YES!" Liz yelled. "Another girl to hang out with!"

Krom nodded, smiling. "Well, now that that's done, let's go find Fredrick and then go get Sumia's lance!"

Liz suddenly started smiling a devious smile. "Oh, we're here to go get her a new lance?" she asked in a not-so-innocent tone.

Cyra followed the two as they bickered about Krom's relationship with another member of the Vigilante Force. _Well, it seems that life will never be boring with those two around.._

She didn't realize just how interesting life would get, though.

* * *

**And we get into more of Liz being an annoying little sister and looking into Krom's relationship with Sumia! And if you know anything about Fire Emblem, the last line is completely true.**

**If you see any weird spelling errors, blame the stupid autocorrect on my iPod.**

**And I'm sorry if this was kinda crappy. The Olympics and my I-want-to-get-to-Maked-Marth-entreance attitude all played a part.**

**Oh! Before I forget: Spotpass and DLC. What do you suggest I do with that?**

**Till Sunday or Monday! ~Brightcrest **


	3. Chapter 3: Threat of War

**Did I say Monday? I ment Tuesday. **

**I was planning to update yesterday, but I got distracted by the Tales of Symphonia manga, and then I read through this chapter again and decided that I didn't like it, so I rewrote it. And then I went to go see if there's an official name for Sumia's pegasus (and I eventually realized that I don't care if there is one), and started reading through some of the supports... **

**The good news is that I have decided that Cyra will be paired with Gaia! Ronku will now be paired with Serge, and Viole (who i originally was going to pair with Serge) with Soirée (go look up that pairing. It's really funny by the S support). You can still suggest pairings, though**

**As of now, I haven't decided if I'm going to add in SpotPass characters, but I don't have to decide for awhile. I have barely started chapter 4.**

**Review Responses:**

**DragonDamsel- As I said before, I haven't completely decided on SpotPass. Right now, Paris has the most chance of getting recruited while a certain character whose death chapter I'm not looking forward to writting has the least chance.**

**Elheinn Hovercast- Having Cyra recruit Sairiya is actually a good idea... It cuts close to yuri, but I think I can write it as almost some kind of worshipness. Heh heh... And bandits are pretty laughable as enemies.**

**Hey, anyone know what's up with chapter 4 In game? From what I've seen, it takes place in a coliseum... **

**Oh, and I don't own Fire Emblem. I forgot to say that last chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Threat of War**

_Okay, maybe a journal would be a good thing to do. That way if I somehow get amnesia again I'll know what I had been doing before or even the name of the town I grew up in._

_So, future reader of this little book, yes, I somehow managed to get amnesia. I'm not actually certain how I got it, sadly. I barely have any memories before being found on the side of the Ide road by Krom and Liz._

_I mean sure, I remember my name, age, birthday, and other various stuff like that. But I still miss my memories... I can't even remember my mom or the people that took care of me when I was little. _

_The castle's healers took a look at me, and they couldn't find anything wrong with me. No head injury, illness, or even a curse... Like Liz said to me, it's like my memories just left. I'm perfectly fine, so by logic they should still be there. _

_I wonder if Krom knows something about this... I overheard him talking to a blond-haired woman five or so years older than him about something involving me yesterday. Of course, he may have just been explaining why he let me join the Vigilante Force. The woman did seem to be nobility._

_Amnesia aside, it is good to have a permanent place to stay. I have vague memories of traveling from town to town trying to find a place cheap enough for me to buy while still being able to afford food. It hadn't been working. Sadly, I have the feeling that I'll have to sleep on a less comfortable be soon._

As if the lord of irony decided to laugh at her, just as Cyra finished writing that sentence, a brown-haired girl about the same age as her opened the door and stuck her head in the room. "Cyra?" she asked tentatively.

Cyra smiled. "Sumia! You can come in if you want."

The Pegasus Knight waked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "So, any reason why you decided to visit me? Or is it just to get away from all of those stupid men, aka Vake and Viole?" Cyra asked the girl.

Sumia smiled. "No, Vake's losing a duel against Sol and I have no clue where Viole went off to. Krom asked me to tell you that he's leaving tomorrow to go check the border and that he wants you to come."

"Really?" the tactician asked. "Who else is going?"

"Erm... Fredrick, Sol, Viole, and Soirée."

"Why must it be Viole..." Cyra moaned.

"At least it's not Vake," Sumia pointed out.

Cyra nodded her head. \Vake isn't a bad guy... He's just obsessed with finding some way to beat Krom.../ "Hey, why aren't you going? Wouldn't it be a good idea to have some kind of flyer if we're just checking on the border?"

Sumia shrugged. "Caeda- my pegasus," she clarified at Cyra's confused face, "got her wing grazed by Viole yesterday in training and won't be able to fly as high up for a couple more days. Krom doesn't want to take a chance of me getting injured by an archer because of that." The girl sighed and then muttered, "I hope that he doesn't get hurt..."

Cyra smiled a bit. While Liz just joking around with her brother, the mage actually believed that Krom had feelings for the brunette and with the way the Sumia sometimes acted towards him, they were mutual. But knowing those two, it would be a while until they admitted it.

"So," Cyra started, "do you have any more books that you want to suggest? I already finished the one you gave me..."

••••

Krom plopped down onto his bed, enjoying the softness of the mattress. _I love my bed… it is so soft… I think I'm going to just stay in my room until I am forced to leave tomorrow… I wonder if I could pretend to be sick and just let Fredrick take over my duties as leader for that mission…_

"Krom, you hardly ever get sick. Fredrick would be able to tell you were lying in an instant."

"GAHHH!" Krom rolled over and looked into his oldest sister's eyes. "I-I said that out load, didn't I?" Emelina nodded. "What do you want that's important enough to interrupt me when I'm trying to enjoy the softness that is my bed?"

The Holy Queen smiled. _Even at 20, he still sometimes acts as a little kid. Especially when it comes to sleeping. _She sat down on the edge of his bed. "You're taking Fredrick, Sol, Viole, Cyra, and Soirée out to go check on the Perezian border tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes… why do you ask?"

Emelina sighed. "Matthew and Leila just came back from Perezia yesterday… It seems that Gangrel has been building up Perezia's army for the past several years…"

"Please don't tell me that he's planning on invading us," Krom almost whined.

Emelina hesitated before answering, which was enough of an answer for her brother. He slammed his head into his pillow, muttering a few choice words. "Of course he's going to attack us! Of course he has to get back at father for treating them like crap even though he's been dead for six years already! Doesn't he realize that we aren't even close to as bad as he was concerning how we treat them?"

"Obviously he doesn't," Emelina said. "Father wasn't really a bad man, but the way he discriminated against anyone and everyone from Perezia was just… wrong."

"I can think of a few better words to describe it that doesn't involve the word 'wrong'," the lord mumbled darkly.

"Krom," his older sister reproached. "Stop trying to come up with words to describe something that we both know is wrong."

"I'm not trying to come up with words at all. I already know the words."

Emelina shook her head. "You know, Gangrel could be trying to attack Felia." Krom gave her an are-you-joking look. "Okay, that's a stretch."

"So, let me guess: you want me to find some way to find out if Matthew and Leila's information is correct since I'm heading down there anyway?" His older sister nodded. He sighed. "Fine. Now can you please leave and let me get some sleep?"

Just before she walked out the door, Emelina turned and asked, "Do you think that you could keep this a secret? I don't want word getting out about this until we're sure that that's what Gangrel is planning to do." Krom nodded and she left the room.

_I have a nightmare that involves me dying, and then I find Cyra the next day. And now, a week later, we get news that Perezia is mobalizing it's army to invade us. All of this can't be connected... Can it?_

* * *

**It's not Fire Emblem if some country doesn't invade. Think about it: is there actually a game in the series where there's not some kind of civil war or an invasion? No. No there is not.**

**Just so you know, other then being spies, the Matthew and Leila in this story has no relation to the two from Blazing Sword. I just happen to like those two. Same goes to the name of Sumia's pegasus; Caeda/Shiida is my favorite Pegasus Knight.**

**Krom not being able to sleep because he gets interrupted may be a reoccurring thing in this story. **

**The next chapter will (hopefully) be up in 2 to 3 days. ~Brightcrest **


	4. Chapter 4: The OtherWorld Gate

**I'm officially insane. I am posting this after midnight and I have to get up at 8 to pick up my schedule for school in the morning. I hate the people that run it... Actually I hate it period. EVERY kid would rather stay home instead of get up at 5 for a day of the torture that is school. **

**In happier news my birthday is in 10 days :D.**

**Anyway, if you want an explanation on why I didn't get it out earlier, Real life got in the way.**

**Reviews:**

**DragonDamsel: THANK YOU! I really had no idea what to do with that chapter.**

**Hawki: Thanks for the feedback! I'd comment more, but I already established the midnight thing. But before I forget, I'm going to redo chapter two tommarrow or sometime this week. I really don't like it.**

**Disclaimer: Fire Emblen not mine.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The Other-World Gate**

"Lord Gangrel."

The Trickster looked up at the sorceress. "Ah, Inverse. Is the army ready?"

"Yes, Lord Gangrel. The invasion will take place on schedule."

The Trickster's unnerving laugh echoed across the room, but Inverse didn't so much as flinch. "Good. Anything else?"

"Nothing."

He waved his hand in dismissal. Inverse bowed and left the room. Gangrel leaned back in his chair.

_Soon, Iris will fall under my grasp, and Felia will come soon after. Valhart will think twice about attacking us after this, and what better way to get back at all of the oppression those previous "Holy Kings" forced on us?_

••••

"How about you just shut up!"

"Liz, that's not a nice thing to say."

"Oh, tell me that you don't think that he should keep talking! Apparently being an archer also makes you have an oversized ego!"

"Well, at least I'm not a worthless little kid that can barely use a heal stave and yet still insists on coming along! What a worthless-"

It was at this point that Krom lost it and punched Viole in the face, knocking the archer to the ground. "How dare you say that! She's not even close to worthless!" the blue-haired lord screamed at him.

But the damage had already been done. Liz ran off as soon as Viole had said the word worthless. "Fredrick, you're in charge until I get back," Krom spoke looking at the Great Knight. "I'm going to go look for her. None of you leave camp unless... an earthquake or something like that happens. And don't even think about following me," he added when he saw Fredrick start to open his mouth. With that, he grabbed ahold of Falchion from where he had set it on the ground and sprinted in the direction his little sister went.

The rest of the members of the Vigilante Force glared at Viole as he janked himself up. "I can't believe you," Sol finally spoke. "Liz has healed you quite a few times and, even if you've still needed to be looked at by more skilled clerics, I doubt that you would still be able to use your arm if it wasn't for her."

"I've only been here for a little more then a week," Cyra spoke, "but I've seen Liz work in the castle's infirmary with some of the recruits. She has a lot of potential."

"You're lucky that Lord Krom is a generally forgiving person," Fredrick added.

Viole hung his head. Even his pride was screaming at him that he'd gone overboard. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm-"

"Don't you dare tell us 'sorry'," Soirée said. "Tell Liz that when they get back." She tossed a Vulnerary at the archer, who just barely caught it.

"Thanks." Viole began applying some of the medicine to the dark bruise that was already beginning to form on his lower jaw.

After a few minutes, they all began to hear some kind of rumbling sound come from their north. "Um... Did you guys hear that?"

The rest of the group nodded at Cyra's question, each of them reaching for their weapon. A few seconds later, they heard the unmistakable- though this was the first time most of them had heard it- sound of the Earth cracking apart.

In an instant they were grabbing everything in reach and securing their weapons. This definably counted as a reason to leave the camp.

••••

Krom caught up to Liz after a minute. She was sitting on a somewhat flat rock, gripping her heal stave tightly. He couldn't see her face, but from the sounds he heard he knew that she had taken Viole's words seriously. "Liz..." he said, sitting beside her.

The cleric let out a sob and buried her head in his chest. Krom just held her until she got some control over her tears. "I forgot to tell you this earlier," he spoke once she had calmed down slightly, "but Cyra was talking to the head cleric yesterday and she said that you were one of the best students she's ever had."

Liz looked up at her brother. "R-really?" she asked, wiping a few stray tears from her face.

"Last time I checked, 'lier' is not a synonym of 'amnesic'," he said.

Liz smiled and was helped up by her brother. That's when they heard it.

"Onii-chan, what was that?" Liz asked, suddenly fearful.

Krom didn't get a chance to answer before the ground shook again and a long crack appeared not too far away from them. "Run," he told her.

She didn't need him to say that twice. Krom looked back at the rising Earth. _This is definally no ordinary Earthquake... I've never heard of the ground rising before..._ he ran after Liz.

He got in front of her as fire started erupting from the ground, gesturing at her to follow him as he ran to the west. The lord jumped down a small cliff, Liz following close behind her brother.

After another few minutes of running, they finally stopped in a clearing to catch their breath. "Onii-chan, what's that?" Liz suddenly spoke, pointing a slightly shaking hand at something in the sky.

Some kind of portal opened up in the sky, two... things fell out of it, landing at the other side of the clearing. Even from the distance from the things, the two royals could make out their unnatural red eyes.

"Liz, stay back," Krom commanded his sister, drawing Falchion.

One of the monsters charged, causing the lord to slash his sword in a clean blow through its chest. He looked back in shock when it survived the blow. "What?"

Krom blocked the blow it sent at him, knocking the monster to the ground. He jumped up, stabbing it in the chest.

The monster dissolved, but Krom held his position for a few more seconds. _That first blow should've killed it... What are these things?_

A scream brought him back to reality. "Liz!" he cried, seeing his sister pushed against a rock by the other soldier. He ran towards her, knowing that he wouldn't make it in time...

••••

Unnoticed to Krom, another was trying to get through the gate. The person ran forward, trying to reach the girl.

_No! I-I, I can't let anyone else die because I couldn't protect them_! The figure reached for the clearing...

••••

Krom ran towards his sister, knowing that he wouldn't make it in time. The monster rose his axe to strike the girl...

Krom stopped dead in his tracks. Someone- who he hadn't seen enter the clearing- had blocked the blow.

The person shouted something at him that sounded like, "you're sword!" he nodded, running forward with his sword poised to strike. The newcomer's blade struck the thing at the same time as his, killing it instantly.

The person sheathed his blade, but Krom didn't, keeping an eye on the person even as he gave a quick glance at Liz to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Who are you?" he asked the swordsman warily. The lord was definably not expecting the answer he recieved.

"My name is... Marth."

* * *

**And thus enters Masked Marth! I apologize if Viole is your fav character. I wanted to write big bro Krom so bad...**

**Now if you excuse me I'm going to sleep.**


	5. Chapter 5: Shattered Normalcy

**I'M SORRY! I'll explain my lack of updates after I get this chapter out.  
**

**Disclaimer: Do you actually think I own Fire Emblem?**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Shattered Normalcy**

"My name is... Marth."

Saying that the two siblings were surprised would be a massive understatement.

"Wait... Did you just say that you're name is Marth? As in the Hero King that lived more then 2000 years ago?" Krom asked. "Marth" nodded. "I've officially gone insane."

The swordsman could've sworn that he heard "Marth" mutter something along the lines of, "You definably aren't the insane one," but wasn't sure... Brushing aside that thought, he asked, "If you're actually Marth, then why are you here? Actually, how the crap would you even get here?"

"The Other-World gate," he said simply. At the other two's blank stares, he elaborated, "That huge portal that opened up in the sky that coughed out those Corpse Soldiers."

_Wait... If he came out of that thing, does that mean that he's in league with those 'corpse soldiers' as he called them? _Krom thought, tightening his grip on Falchion for a moment, then relaxing. _No... If he was, he would've just let Liz get hurt. Though... Why does he seem so familiar? I have the feeling that I should know who he is, but-_

"Anyway, I'd suggest that you go help your friends fight off those Corpse Soldiers," the enigma said, jarring Krom from his thoughts. "They should be somewhere to the northeast. And keep an eye out for mages."

With that, he turned around and began to walk away, but not before Falchion's wielder called out, "Wait! Have I... Ever seen you before?"

THAT got a reaction. The swordsman stumbled, then very quickly spoke, "N-no. You've never seen me before." The second he finished, he nearly ran out of the clearing in the opposite direction.

Silence reigned for a minute or two before Liz finally broke it. "Onii-chan... was that really?"

Krom didn't speak for a minute, staring at where the masked man had vanished. "No," he finally said, shaking her head. "I don't think so. Though considering everything that's happened today, I doubt I can say that for sure. Let's just go find the others."

Liz nodded, then asked, "Why did you ask if you'd seen him before?"

"I... he just seemed familiar somehow. I probably confused him with someone else." Liz shrugged and headed off, Krom following.

_He was definably lying. He's seen me before. But... why did he lie? And why do I have the feeling that I should know exactly who he is?_

覚醒

"Cyra, if you almost hit me or my horse with magic one more time I promise you I'll-"

"Choose a larger clearing next time!" the tactician snapped back at Sol, casting another round of thunder.

Sol beheaded one of the corpses with his sword, still muttering about having more to fear from friendly fire then their actual enemies.

To be fair, he didn't actually pick the clearing. He did suggest going in this direction since it was where they saw Krom and Liz head, but the monsters had decided that this would be a good place to ambush them. Considering the fact that it was about 20-30 feet wide and there had been about 18 of the monsters to start, they would've had an easy time taking care of them if they'd been regular bandits of something like that.

While Cyra and Sol were bickering, Soiree and Fredrick were taking care of a few other monsters. Soiree was throwing javelins at some and stabbing others with her sword. Fredrick, being the experienced soldier he is, had the highest kill (if those things can be killed) rate of all of them, completely annihilating the corpses left and right.

The monsters didn't stand a chance against any of the Vigilante Force. Well, any of them except for Viole. He got cornered by a couple of them at the start and due to the fact that he was only skilled with a long ranged weapon, he was having a fun time trying to stay alive.

"Guys! A little help here?" he eventually called out desperately. "I am so learning to use a sword or some other melee weapon after this," he muttered as he blocked yet another blow with his bow. He kept praying that his bow would hold up until someone noticed that he had a high chance of being fatally injured.

覚醒

Meanwhile, the members of the Vigilante Force (minus the two Iris royals) were being watched by a mage gripping a black-colored tome.

"Wow... So that's the prince's personal army..." he said, peering out from behind a tree. "They are extremely good. Well... maybe not the archer, but the rest definably pick up the slack."

He continued to watch them for a few more minutes, then sighed. _Why did I have to get this job... Why couldn't have Lady Inverse pick someone else to eliminate some of them? I don't want that Great Knight with the silver lance to kill me. He looks to have high resistance, and there's the mage! Why..._

Sadly for the mage, he was too busy being wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the sound of a person sneaking up on him, nor the sound of a sword being drawn...

覚醒

They weren't expecting the flying mage.

All of the monsters except for the two attacking Viole were finished, and Soiree was in the process of turning her horse in his direction to throw a javelin at one of the corpses, while the others were either searching for new threats (Fredrick), preparing to help Soiree (Cyra), or just plain out putting away their weapon and thinking about actually getting some sleep (Sol).

The human projectile stopped all movement in the clearing after it went crashing into one of the corpse soldiers, which in turn crashed into the other. Viole quickly shot them with more arrows then was ever needed to kill something.

The soldiers all turned to roughly where the mage went flying from and saw Krom standing there with a shocked expression on his face, Falchion still in his hand. "Well, I wasn't expecting that."

Cyra knelt down and picked up the mage's tome. "Th-this is a dark tome... Noone in Iris carries this type of tome..." She looked up at Krom, saying, "Please tell me that what I'm thinking isn't true..."

Krom couldn't deny it. "I was speaking with my sister the day before we left, and she kinda confirmed it." To the other's confused looks, he regretfully added, "Perezia has been building up their army for a few years now, and all... all evidence points to them invading Iris."

覚醒

Meanwhile, another person was watching the group, only this time there was no intent behind it.

_They all look so shocked, as they rightfully should be,_ thought the masked stranger Krom and Liz had met. _Their world has sorta crashed down on them. I wonder how that felt... My world had no normality for the vast majority of my life... Fighting off those Corpse Soldiers... Seeing mother and aunt die before me... _

The swordsman looked at Krom, who was still speaking to the rest of the Vigilante Force. _Seeing him again now, when it's been over a decade since I laid eyes on him... Though how did he seem to almost recognize me? I don't even EXIST yet... _

He sighed, then turned around and began to walk away. _Thinking about it won't bring up any answers. Might as well go ahead to Felia now. I'm going to have to do some work to be able to get into the Festival. Maybe then I can stop living this lie..._

* * *

**Again, I'm really sorry for not updating this sooner. I got sick and I wasn't able to write while sneezing every two minutes, and then that thing that sucks up 6-8 hours of your life each weekday. Yeah. School. I think that's a suitable excuse.**

**Krom: No it's not!**

**What? How did you get here?**

**Krom: You wanted to break the fourth wall.**

**Oh yeah... Anyway, any comments on this chapter?**

**Krom: Well, there is the fact that you didn't actually get into how surreal it was to meet-**

**HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! Someone might be reading this and not know MM's identity!**

**Krom: ... MM?**

**Stands for Masked Marth. It's quicker then writting it out all the time.**

**Krom: By the way, why do you always make fun of Viole?**

**Well, it was kinda coming to him with the whole archer thing. I HAD to make fun of that, and will again in the future. Though why always him... I don't really know. **

**Krom: Anyway, I've got to get back to doing spoilery stuff. **

**Okay. Im going to bed. Feel free to flame me if I don't get the next chapter up in a decent amount of time. **

**Any suggestions, comments, or feedback you might have would be greatly appreciated! It will only take a couple minutes to write a few comments down and make me happy!**


End file.
